chapter 10
10. Rehabilitation (2)
It has already been a month since my master, Sione Cianella, started working out properly.
When I first saw it, I thought it was really no joke, but now I’m quite surprised in a different way.
Shione is working out steadily without missing a day.
During the day, she did simple aerobic or full-body exercises that could be done even in her room at set times during the day, and jogged around on her way to and from the shooting range early in the morning.
She asked the kitchen to reduce the amount she usually eats and prepare foods that can help her lose weight.
Of course, I did not omit the meat side dish. It would be nice to have at least a small reward for working so hard.
Thanks to those efforts, the current Shione has changed significantly from a month ago.
Before the diet, where did the pig that munched a handful of cookies into her snout whenever she was awake?
Now I can see her sitting in her chair, chewing on her tiny apple, and then taking a break.
It’s amazing how people can change like this in just one month.
I am proud of myself thinking that I have brought about such a change.
Smart.
After knocking on Shione’s door, I slowly entered the room.
Then, she saw Sione, whom she thought was sleeping, sitting on the bed and looking at me.
“Are you here now?”
“Yes, how did you wake up so early today?”
“Maybe it’s because I moved a little less yesterday, my body is energized. I think it’s because of that.”
Saying that, Shione doesn’t have the grumpy, round, rocky appearance she had when he first met her.
If I had to express it, should I say that it is a block of stone that a sculptor is about to frame a person and begin to shape properly?
Anyway, she is steadily becoming a person.
Her It’s not easy to notice her who hasn’t seen her very much, but I rolled her every day, and in my eyes, she changed little by little, and her sense came into view at a glance.
Moreover, these days, as if he had noticed that kind of self, he only made her die, and then he did what he didn’t even ask him to do first.
Bastard, I’m proud of everything.
I put a faint smile on the corner of my mouth.
“If you do, you will need to increase the intensity of your exercise so that you can sleep longer.”
“…Don’t talk nonsense. I think it would be better to do it so that I can wake up feeling refreshed like today.”
“I’ll do it if I lose a little more weight. Maybe it’s because my body was originally trained with a sword, but the speed at which the weight burns is fast, so that’s going to be quick.”
“How nice it would have been if you had said this a month ago…”
“Yes?”
“It’s done. We’ve already finished preparing to go out, so let’s go now.”
I followed Shione and came out of the room again.
We stretched lightly.
The other time when Shione sprained her foot during her jog, she thought she was going through a hard time.
How could I have known that I would end up dragging the heavy Sione while supporting it?
After that, to prevent this from happening, we made sure that we never skipped stretching and warming up beforehand.
“The day has become quite warm. Even at this time, it’s not cold and it’s moderately cool.”
“I don’t think it’ll be very cool if you warm it up moderately.”
“That’s right too.”
I started jogging.
If you run all the way to the shooting range, the distance feels a bit short. So I head towards the garden, then turn around and go back to the shooting range.
“Whoop… Whoop…”
Shione, who had been running well, began to breathe heavily.
“Would you like to take a break?”
“Huuk…It’s okay…! Haa…Keep it like this!”
“Okay. Let’s slow down a bit instead.”
Shione only nodded as if it was difficult to answer.
She goes at her pace and how much more she could have run.
She arrived in front of the shooting range before she knew it.
Her rough breathing and drops of sweat dripping down one by one are soothed by the cool dawn breeze.
It took her a little while before she could breathe and tasted the flesh.
Turning her head and looking to her side, she could see Shione’s expression of joy.
“Certainly my body has become lighter. Finally, today, I can run all the way to this place without resting.”
“All of this was only possible because of Sione’s efforts.”
“Thank you for your words. And…”
She hesitated for a moment, not knowing what to say.
“Thank you for following me through all the hardships.”
Wow, is this really the guy who urged you not to bother him from the very beginning?
The more I look at her attitude, which has clearly changed, the more I feel like it’s not bad.
“Never mind. As I always say, I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do as an exclusive servant.”
“Hmm.”
It became an unfamiliar atmosphere for no reason.
It’s very uncomfortable even if it stays like this.
Shione also hurriedly turned to her shooting range, accelerating her steps.
“Keuheum, let’s go in quickly. There isn’t much time to shoot the bow.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Sione and I are now accustomed to entering the shooting range and picking up bows and arrows one by one.
Shione stood in front of the target, and I took the seat next to her.
Somehow, it became customary to start each day by checking each other’s bow skills.
Shione glared at the target.
I also turned her gaze to the target she was staring at.
Her target has been changed from a wooden circular target to a scarecrow in recent years.
His accuracy at circular targets is excellent, and despite the reduced archery practice time thanks to his morning workouts lately.
It’s pretty daunting to see your skills improve day by day.
“Hmm…”
Shione pulled on her string.
Classic pinch-type action and dead release.
Her gaze and arrowhead aimed at a target about 50 meters away.
She must be aiming for her head or her chest.
Slowly following her gaze and arrowhead,
Beyond hitting the target, we could see that her ultimate goal is to pierce the forehead.
Pang!!!
The protesters vomited as they returned to their positions.
Afterwards, the unnecessary force drained from Shione’s arms, her bow tilted forward and her right arm pulled back.
Her sharp gaze pursued the graceful curve of the arrow.
Puck!!
The arrow stuck.
“Ah…”
An exclamation of regret leaked from Shione’s lips.
The arrow was not between the eyebrows, but rather than that, it went down and was stuck in the neck.
It seems that the result is not to my liking.
“I tried aiming for the head again today, but it slipped. This time, I’m more disappointed because it feels pretty good.”
“You needn’t be so heartbroken. Didn’t the scarecrow give you a head instead of a head? If it had been one of the enemy infantry instead of a scarecrow, it would have been fleetingly lost.”
“If you aim for the head of an enemy infantryman and shoot with your bow, you can only hit the neck with luck, so that’s the problem.”
“In the end, time will solve the problem. It’s amazing that Shione-nim, who has only been holding a bow for a month, is complaining like this.”
“Well, I think it’s amazing.”
“…Unlucky.”
“Whoops, I know.”
As Shione giggled at my joke, I took two arrows and put the three arrows on my back.
Now that she shot the bow, it’s my turn.
Grip the bow.
Do not hold the bow, but use the thumb at the top of the life line in your palm to push it out.
Immediately after that, he hooks an arrow to the string and pulls it.
Mediterranean-style judicial, an arrow caught with a split finger immediately cut through the air with a sliding release.
As soon as the arrow left, I shot the remaining arrow in the same way.
Puck! Knock!
The arrow hit the scarecrow’s philtrum and right eye area.
“Other parts right away.”
He took out an arrow from the quiver.
Release your hand while pulling at the same time as sewing.
With a total of three movements, three arrows stuck into one scarecrow.
In order, the forehead, chest, and abdomen were pierced.
All of them are deadly attacks if they are matched in a real battle situation.
These were skills learned against the gate murderers and humanoid monsters who committed murder within the gate.
“…You can’t believe it even if you look at it. Are you a man?”
“Of course. Do I have to untie my shirt to prove it?”
Fire!
Sione’s cheeks turned red with embarrassment at my bold prank.
I smiled and hung my head.
“It’s a joke.”
“…A nasty hobby.”
After fooling around for a while, we went back to practice.
Me and Shione shot arrows at different scarecrows.
Pan!!
Shione shot her bow and took her luck.
“I have a question for you.”
I nodded obediently.
“Is it really possible to defeat an expert knight with one arrow like this?”
Shione looked down at the arrowhead in her hand.
“The blade of the arrowhead is small. The mana engraved on this small piece of iron seems to be broken without being able to pierce the knight’s.”
“Are you still asking about that after you got hit once a month ago?”
“…I don’t know, sir, it’s noisy. And I’m not an expert, but a sword user…!”
Shione’s face turned red.
When you’re embarrassed, everything shows through, from the way you talk to your face.
Thanks to that, it’s fun to tease.
I answered Shione’s question.
“All you have to do is to squeeze the aura that is thicker than the knight’s aura into the tip and collar so that you can shoot your bow at a distance where the knight’s sword cannot spray water. What’s difficult?”
“But this.”
“The knight’s sword can’t hit the arrow, but it only needs to be fast enough to deflect it. In the end, if you shoot while shooting, the knight who gets hit by the arrow that misses because it can’t hit it will be maimed.”
It was my own experience.
Because I once subdued an expert level hunter who was a motherer in this way.
“…….”
“Just keep working hard until you become stronger than a knight. Victory is determined by the mastery of the weapon, not the type of weapon.”
I fired the bow straight away.
The arrow lodged in the scarecrow’s heart.
“If a sword can cut through a bow, then a bow can pierce its owner.”
“Truly…you’re good at one thing.”
Shione nodded as if he was chewing on my words and thought for a while.
Then he slowly raised his bow again and began shooting quietly.
Her actions became more determined.
How much time has passed like that?
Around the time when the cold wind gradually fades and the wind between late spring and early summer begins to feel.
I started to feel something against my nerves.
It’s subtly hidden, but it’s clear that something strange has happened to us.
“I don’t feel good.”
I immediately turned the mana to heighten my senses.
The subtlety that had been vague seemed to be getting a little more defined.
And the more the outline was drawn, the more his expression distorted.
“Oops.”
The presence of a person can be felt from outside the shooting range.
At this hour? Why did you come all the way to this shooting range to watch us?
Until now, I have never met anyone else while practicing here at this time.
This was a quiet time for everyone to fall asleep, not a lively time for training with a sword or bow.
It is normal for the soldiers who were trained to rummage yesterday to sleep so deeply that they will not know even if the world explodes now that there is nothing special.
I quickly pulled out one of her arrows and moved to Sione’s side.
“Hmm? Why are you doing that all of a sudden?”
At the same time as her voice resonated in the quiet shooting range.
The sound of someone’s trudging footsteps came from the shooter’s entrance.
And as the sound got closer, I saw what appeared to be the handle of a knife slung around my waist.
“…Are there any guests coming over at this time?”
“A guest, even though I know very well that such a thing could not happen.”
“Among those who resent Shione-sama, is there anyone who can figure it out?”
“…Not so much.”
“Really?”
Shione nodded her head slightly.
“Don’t get away from me just in case.”
I pulled the protest and aimed at the spot where the unidentified monster would come out.
Because there is such a thing as just in case.
To be honest, Shione’s reputation is kind of bad, she’s changed a bit since then, but it’s not strange that there are one or two people who are against her.
How did I turn this bastard into a human child?
Even if it’s not about returning to Earth.
If you do something wrong and die, it seems that your dream place will be fierce for the rest of your life.
“I will protect you.”
I’ll have to watch it for now.